Dark Matter: Seven
by ForceWalker
Summary: They say the number "seven" is a lucky number. The galaxy's favorite number. For him, it was much more at this point. Now he found himself on a ship with six other people, the galaxy's most dangerous place to be. And he had to find out who he was, all while trying to survive, and figure out the secrets all around him. Whoever said "seven" was a lucky number...was clearly a liar.
1. Prologue

Eyes snapped wide open. A gasp of breath. A look of startled confusion.

Those were the three most obvious details about him as he woke up, lying down on a hard surface, encased by walls all around him and shrouded in darkness. Startled and worried, he looked around, wondering what was going on. He pounded the walls around him, frantically trying to figure out his situation. He kept at it, getting more and more worried, his motions becoming more frantic, until he hit upward. He struck something. A solid surface. It was surprising, yet welcoming. And when he hit it, it moved. It shifted. And he immediately pushed it upward.

The lid opened up, smoke rising out of it, and he sat up out of the container, panting heavily. He didn't understand what was going, trying to decipher where he was, and his eyes eventually began to gain vision as they began to wonder around his surroundings. It appeared to be some sort of storage area, only enlightened by the small lights that covered the area, and it was confirmed when there were several other containers around him. He didn't know where he was, or what this place was. All he could tell from this place was the hum he heard, a strange hum he could not place.

Eventually, he decided that he wasn't going to figure this out right now, and tried to pull himself out of the container, but then he felt a massive pain in his side. A gasp of pain escaped his mouth as he held his side, stunned at what was causing it. But the moment he looked down, it became clear what it was, much to his horror. Blood seeping through his shirt, the result of a wound that was deep in his side, and he quickly placed a hand on it in a vain attempt to cover it up. There was a gulp, and sweat starting to form on his head as slight panic came in on him.

Nothing made sense. Why was he hurt like this? Where was he? Why was he even in this position? What was going on?

All these questions kept filing through his head, but through it all, there was a prevailing instinct that shot through him: _Save yourself._

And it was obvious that he decided that was the bigger concern. So he slowly pulled himself out of the container, shakily standing up as he stood on wobbly legs. The pain was excruciating, but he had to bear it. Just for a little while. Just long enough so he could live. So he held his breath, and began to limp his way towards the exit of the storage area, all while he held his side. He eventually came across the elevator, and as he leaned against the wall, he quickly pressed a few buttons which closed the doors and sent him upwards into the ship.

That led him to the upper levels, and he soon began his walk once more, which gave way to hallways, stairs, intersections, and much more. The structure of it all was starting to become more clear to him. In fact, they seemed reminiscent of the corridors ships would have. A ship. That actually seemed likely to him. Very likely. He almost wanted to beat himself up for not realizing it sooner. But he also realized this didn't really help him at all. Because he had no idea where he was going. He was just stumbling about like a drunken fool, leaving a trail of blood from the drips his wound was leaving on the ground. He kept making turns and finding just more hallways to walk. He knew this was going nowhere. And the longer it took, the worse it got.

That was very evident by the dizziness he was starting to feel. Probably the blood loss there. His hand is starting to get covered in red. So yeah, definitely, the blood loss.

He was practically starting to pull himself against the walls in order to keep himself upright. The wall ran out however, as he came across a doorway and fell down to his knees, practically trying to fight the pain at this point. He looked up at the doorway, and quickly pressed a few buttons on the door console, and the door slid open. He shifted head to look inside, and for once, a sense of relief washed over him. He could see inside the doorway was a medical room of sorts. He didn't care about the details, just that there was one. So he slowly crawled into the room, bathed in the blue light of it all, and quickly scanned the room as much as he could. He grabbed the platform for patients and pulled himself up on it, and quickly began reaching his hands out towards the storage cabinets, opening them and searching them thoroughly for anything to stop the bleeding. He refused to be picky at this point, the panic rising to an all-time high. He needed to stop the bleeding. He had to. Please.

That's when his hand grasped something. He felt it, and as fast as he possibly could, he pulled it in and looked at what he had gotten off the counter. It was a high-grade, heat spike. A cylindrical device with a spike that when activated, heated up to burning levels. And a heat spike like this had only one use in a medical room like this. He wasn't going to like this. But he had no choice. Not if he wanted to keep tasting air.

So he backed up into the platform, held the heat spike tightly, closed his eyes before turning on the spike, and he could already feel the heat coming in great waves. He took a deep breath, pulled the shirt up slightly, and quickly jammed it the spike into the wound.

It took literally biting his tongue out not to scream in pure agony.

He nearly cried tears as he felt the heat practically sear his skin, just flatout begging for him to stop. But he had to push through. He had to. Dammit, what did he do to deserve this?

Eventually, after at least ten to fifteen seconds, he pulled the heat spike away and gasped in great pain. Pants came in one after the other, the sweat on his head greater than it was before. The wound had been cauterized thanks to what he did. He wasn't sure if it would hold, but it at least kept him from dying for now. That was good enough for now. And for once, since he came out of that container, he could relax. He could simply calm down, and actually figure out what's going on.

But that's when a growl came from his stomach. A growl that called for good.

A groan escaped from his lips. He hated that he felt this right after he just saved himself for the moment, so he could try to figure things out. But the hunger was clear. He needed to eat. He needed energy. And he wasn't going to think on an empty stomach. So he fully stood up, and limped out of the room, and began to wander around once more in search for food. All while he continued to ignore the occasional hallucination of ships flying at him out of the corner of his eyes. Definitely the blood loss still.

Eventually, he managed to take the right turn, and came across the mess hall. This was going to have to be good enough for now. So he quickly began to search the room for anything that was edible. His movements were erratic, and rushed, but that was what hunger could do. Eventually, he managed to come across a bag of vatted meat in the corner of the hall. And once he got his hands on it, he quickly began to tear apart the bag and dump all the meat he could into his mouth.

He nearly hacked it out the moment it got in. The taste was awful, it was borderline disgusting. How could anyone even eat this stuff? But he reminded himself, he couldn't be picky. So he ignored his taste buds, and swallowed it. He quickly took a deep breath after that, still holding the bag which had a little bit of meat left. Now he felt a bit better. He was slightly sated in terms of hunger. Now, he needed to figure out what was going on. Because right now, he was on a ship he didn't know, with a wound he had no idea about, and he didn't know what had to led to this. He held his head, feeling like he was forgetting something important in all this. But he would figure it out later-

And that stopped when he turned around and came face to face with a man who had walked into the room with a tray.

They both stood there stunned, and for a brief moment, he had no idea what to do. All he could do was stare in front of a man who seemed to be in his 20s or 30s, with short brain hair, with the slight makings of a five o-clock shadow, with a simple black shirt and black pants. His expression was probably mirroring his own, wondering what was going on. However, eventually, one of them reacted eventually.

The one who did quickly threw several bits of vatted meat into the other's face.

It didn't do much in general, but it surprised the man just enough to allow him to run right past him and began to get the hell out of there as fast as he could. His feet carried him down the hallways as fast as they possibly could, despite the searing pain his side was now feeling from this sudden activity. It had not fully healed off the cauterization, but he had no choice. He couldn't take the chance. He knew that everything was blown. He had to get away.

"Hey! Wait!"

The man's voice was clearly heard as he looked behind, and he was being chased by him. He was reaching out a hand as he was following step for step, but that only panicked him even more and forced him to push himself faster despite the pain in his side. He heard the man say more, but he couldn't hear him. All he could feel the adrenaline in him. The fear. The worry. The self-preservation instinct as he continued to turn as many corners in an attempt to try and get back to the elevator to the storage area.

But eventually, he was moving so fast that he actually tripped up and stumbled down as he turned a corner.

That's what saved him though. Because a blade went right through the air where his head would've been.

He rolled under the swung blade, partly from his own feet losing their ground, and quickly rolled across the ground before getting to his feet. He quickly looked behind him, and found an Asian man wielding the blade, wearing the same clothes as the first man, but with a shaved head a small goatee. His expression was hardened, focused, and disciplined, and it was trained on him. And that was enough to make him just run even more. Run, run, run, as fast as he possibly can.

He could feel the man with the blade chase after him, and that the first man had already joined him in the pursuit. He was in trouble. Massive trouble. He couldn't let them catch him. He couldn't. He didn't want to find out what would happen. He didn't even turn around. If he did, he felt that blade may be reaching his body sooner than later. But as he began to run down the hallway as fast as he could, that was when he realized he still had the heat spike from earlier. Probably holding onto it in an absent manner.

He was thankful for that now as he made sure to keep running for a bit more, until he made sure to pass under an arch in the hallway. And he glanced behind him, seeing the panel on the wall next to the arch, and with a quick press of the button, he turned on the heat spike. Relying on instinct he didn't know he had, he threw the heat spike towards the console. It struck into the console, the intense of the spike burying into the console and shorting it out. That allowed the blast door to suddenly come down just as the two men were about to cross the arch, blocking the path.

A brief thought crossed his mind that they were likely going to be pissed he caused that. But it was only for a brief moment as he just kept on running, nearly stumbling over himself from having to turn so sharply. The pain in his wounded side was growing more and more from every step he had to take, the energy he had to exert. But he kept moving. It wasn't safe here anymore. Whatever this ship was. He was known. And he didn't want a blade to the gut.

He quickly found himself back at the elevator lift once more and quickly slammed into it with a thud, not stopping himself. He gritted his teeth, not caring about his pain as he quickly went over to the screen and pressed a button that would sent him back down to the level he came from. It would only take a few seconds.

"Oh come on, I'm trying to get some shut-eye, you people!"

He stiffened as he heard that gruff voice, and he turned his head as yet another man came out from a corner, wearing a light blue shirt, black pants, and a brown vest, with his short brown, goatee, and scar next to his eye all standing out. And he looked irritated to say the least as he stepped into his sight, looking around for the cause.

"I mean, seriously, do you need to shout and cause all that damn noise?! Not all of us are-"

The man stopped when he turned around and saw him. He stiffened in shock. And fear. He knew that he knew he wasn't supposed to be here. And as the man looked at him in surprise, the doors of the elevator began to close.

They weren't closing fast enough.

Almost instantly, he pulled out a gun from his holster, aimed right at him, and opened fire with as cold an expression as you can have. And at that exact moment, he quickly dropped down to try and avoid the bullets aimed at his head.

And he somehow did. If only by being a split second faster.

The bullets whizzed over his head as he landed on the ground, crashing into the wall behind him as sparks flew. The man advanced firing repeatedly to try and strike him, but he didn't manage to fire into the elevator long enough as the doors closed just in time. He heard a few more bullets strike the doors before stopping and he then looked up at the tiny windows of the door. And he was greeted with the angry, almost cursing face of the man that just tried to kill him. Just before it disappeared as the elevator began to go down.

He panted heavily, now having avoided three near-death situations in the span of a few minutes. Was he hyperventilating? He wasn't sure, but he felt that may be likely. He knew for sure he was losing his mind over all this. Fear and panic were definitely at the forefront of everything. And pain. Pain was getting up there as well.

Seething at the sudden feeling of that familiar pain, he slowly rolled over onto his back and looked down at his side. The wound had reopened. All that running and moving had forced it back open despite the cauterization.

He cursed everything at that moment in his head. Why was this happening to him? What did he do to deserve this? Why was he even here? Why?

All those questions kept racing through his head as he laid on the ground, but they stopped the moment the doors opened once more, indicating he was back in the lower level storage areas. Self-preservation kicked back in as he knew that all had to wait. He needed to get back up, and survive. Somehow.

And that's what he did. Stand back up, holding onto his bleeding side and began to limp back towards where he came from. He managed to make it as far as the container he came out of, placing a hand on the edge of it as dizziness began to hit him once more. He was finding it a hard time to just stay standing at this point. He had lost too much blood, the wound being reopened made it worse. And he didn't know where else to go. They were sure to come down and find him. And then do who knows what to him. And that scared every part of him to his core.

As he tried to figure out what to do, that's when he finally noticed something. Something he didn't before because of all the confusion and pain he went through. He looked up, and saw a door. A massive metal door that had taken over half of a wall at the end of the storage room. Next to it, there was a console with a keyboard next to it, to allow the commands to be put in.

But most importantly, the giant metal doors were slightly opened up.

He stared at the opening of the door for a few brief seconds, the wheels turning into his head. Then, he got a feeling in his head. Almost as if it knew something he didn't. Something that pulled his head down towards the container, and down towards the inside of the lid to it. And what he saw was a crude, circular yellow device that was attached to lid. It seemed somewhat put together by scraps, and had a dingy tint to its yellow collar, but the center of it has a yellow light emanating from it, and he noticed a slight spike under it which was sticking into the lid, and wires were connected all over it in some strange sort of harmony. Staring down at this strange device, he reached down and pulled it off the lid, and observed it in his hand. He turned it over, making sure to look all over it, and he just kept staring at it. As if there was something about this device that had him...thinking.

There really was no other word to describe it but thinking. Thinking. And thinking. And thinking. Almost at astronomical pace-

His thought process was interrupted when he heard sounds coming from outside the room, coming towards him. Panic once again took over. He knew exactly who that was. And there was no time to waste anymore. Not if he wanted to live.

So as fast as he could, he went over to the console and quickly began pressing buttons as if to inset commands. His fingers practically moved over the keys like fluid water. As if this was nothing to him. And soon enough, he found the command to close the door and entered it. He didn't know how he did it that fast. Nor did he care. Not right now.

From there, as the door began to close its slight crack, he managed to run in and slide through it to get into the room. And the moment he looked back, he saw the group of people come into view through the dwindling crack. And they saw him. Even if it was just a tiny sight, they knew they saw him on the other side.

But that was all they got. For the doors closed immediately after. And then for some reason, he quickly slammed the device onto the doors as fast as he could. And from there, he saw it suddenly attached itself like sticky into the door, and blue electricity suddenly shot out of from all sides and throughout the entire door, covering it entirely. And then he suddenly massive locking motions and he could've sworn the door suddenly shut even tighter if that was possible. And then, nothing. Nothing as it looked as it did before. Minus the device stuck to it.

He stared at the entire door for a few seconds, trying to make sense of what just happened. Hell, trying to make sense why he just slammed that device into the door like he did. He didn't know what it did. Did he? He didn't know anything at this point. He really doesn't. And he found that he didn't have the energy to invest into it anymore as he slowly backed up a bit before falling down against what he felt was a crate of sorts, sitting against it as he felt very weak all of a sudden.

Gasping, he looked down to his still bleeding side and that side of his shirt was completely stained with blood at this point. All of this activity was making it worse, and he could feel the lack of blood getting to him. He couldn't even muster the energy to even try and figure what kind of room he was in now. He had nothing left. He was defenseless. At the mercy of the people of this ship.

Which is why when he looked up, and waited for a few seconds, no one came through it. The door didn't open at all. It just stayed like it was. He could hear voices though. That's for sure. Maybe some yelling too. And he thought he heard a banging on the door. Could they not open the door? Was that what that device was for? Making sure that door stay locked from his side? Is that what it did?

Either way, he knew that he was safe for now. But, it didn't matter, did it? He was stuck inside this room. He could at least tell there was no other entrances. The door held people that wanted to kill him on the other side if he opened it up. And if he didn't open it, he knew he was going to bleed out slowly but surely, and die in this room.

So he was screwed either way. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

He hung his head, his eyes closed, gasps breaking from his mouth in repeated manners at this point. Silent sobs soon followed, as tears began to well up in his eyes. Was this how he was going to die? Like this? On a ship he doesn't know, with a wound he had for some reason, in a manner like this? It wasn't fair. It wasn't. He didn't deserve this. He was scared. So damn scared. He didn't understand. He just didn't. Why? He kept asking this over and over. Why? Why him? Why this?

Just...why?

The tears were about to fall as he continued to sob, the reality of his situation threatening to swallow him. He knew this was the end for him. But then...

"Hello? Are you there?"

A voice struck through the air, with a raised tone, grabbing his attention. No doubt trying to be loud enough to be heard from behind the massive door.

And it was a nice voice. A nice voice that actually calmed him actually. He liked it actually.

"Can you hear me? Please, I need you to answer me!"

It was a voice that definitely sounded female, though not truly mature sound. It was young in how it sounded. It also sounded a bit panicked at the end. But not because of anything happening to her.

Was she, whoever she was, actually worried about him?

Whatever the case was, he just sat there, silently. Letting the voice soothe him. At this point, it was the one comfort he had. Because it was like music to his ears at this point.

"Um... Look...I don't know what's going on, I really don't. But we know you're hurt! And hurt badly, from the looks of it."

Was it that obvious? There was an absent look of understanding on his face. Considering the blood he was bleeding, figures he may leave some drips on the floor. He wasn't surprised. He couldn't be surprised at anything, considering how close he was to passing out.

"And I don't know how you got on here. And from what I've been told, I know you're scared. It must be frightening to go through all this."

Gee, you think? He thought that part very sarcastically to himself. Sitting down here in a room, locked inside as he bled to death? Yeah, that was bound to scare him indeed.

"But I promise you, whoever you are. We're not going to hurt you."

Not hurt him? How was that possible? He had two near-death experiences that begged otherwise.

"And I bet you're thinking about what some of the others nearly did to you. But you have to understand, you just showed up on our ship out of nowhere. They don't know who you are. You could be an enemy for all they knew."

...That was true. He certainly showed up in a way not many people expected. Still...

"Besides...I don't think you're an enemy. Not really."

...Really?

"I think you're just as confused as the rest of us are, maybe even more so. You didn't try to fight us. Or take over the ship. Or even us kill in our sleep when you had the chance. You just ran...ran as far as you could...because you're scared...aren't you?"

...Terribly so. More than one could imagine. He wanted to live. So damn much. But that was looking like it wasn't going to happen. And that frightened him.

"...I know you are. That's the only reason anyone would run like you did. And that's why I want to help. It doesn't have to be this way. It...it really doesn't."

He just contemplated those words deeply. It didn't?

"I know you may not trust us, but...I promise you, if you stop whatever's keeping that vault closed, and open it up back up, then nothing's gonna happen to you. We can help you figure out what's going on. And we can find out all the same. It doesn't have to end with you dying. It never did."

He looked down at the ground off that, taking it in. He didn't know anything about this situation, but that idea...the way she presented it...how she made it sound...

"I know you want to live. I want you to. I don't want anyone to die here. So please...just open the door. And let us help you. Can you at least do that?"

Silence filled the room off that, as she stopped talking off that. No doubt she was waiting for an answer. Probably hoping it was the one she wanted to hear. He just sat there, holding his bleeding wound to try and stop the wound. The dizziness was getting more prevalent. His sight was getting hazy. His breaths were getting quicker and shallower. He just sat there in silence for almost a minute.

Then, he slowly pulled himself up to his feet, using the crate as leverage to help him stand. It was painful, and he barely had anything left. But he pressed on. And then he limped towards the door, ignoring the pain and the lack of concentration on his part. He then reached out towards the device, grabbed it, and yanked it off the door before dropping it off the ground.

He could barely make out the flash of blue electricity and the sounds of the doors unlocking. He barely had enough strength for that, so he just focused on the door opening slightly as it was before. Enough so that he stumbled a few steps forward and leaned against the door as panted heavily, still bleeding, and eventually looked at who was on the opposite side.

It was a girl like he thought. Young. Probably 16 years old. But the girl wore a black shirt with pink flower designs all over it, a green sleeveless jacket over it, dark blue tight jeans over her, and she had wavy green hair that reached down to her neck. She looked at him, and he could see the look of relief on her face as she smiled, silently glad he did this.

It was a nice expression, he felt. He sort of wanted to see more of it on a face like that.

"...Thank you. I promise, you're going to be fine. But...just who are you?"

He clicked his tongue at those words, and was about to open his mouth to answer the question.

But that's when he stopped. Why?

Because that was the first time since he came out of that container that he thought about that. About who he was. And for at least five seconds, he thought about that question.

After those five seconds, he looked up at the girl, and for the first time since he came out of that container, spoke up, saying...

 _"...I don't know who I am."_

And that was when he collapsed to the ground, the blood loss finally getting to him and forcing him into unconsciousness. But as he fell to the darkness, he managed to catch one phrase from it all. And when he would reflect on it in hindsight, it certainly summed up the whole situation.

"Ah shit."

* * *

 _A/N: So I've just recently got into Dark Matter. Only to find out it's cancelled after Season 3. On such a massive cliffhanger. Why is it that I always go through stuff like this? Such a shame that a show like that got cancelled, but it was worth getting into. And I hope we see the conclusion. But as always, life goes on. And with loving such a great series, I've decided to try my hand at a Dark Matter fanfiction, especially since there's not that many._

 _This is the prologue to the story I had, and I don't know if the beginning of this is anything original or what not. But I have many ideas for this that will make it so. Just need to piece them together. At the least, I'm doing this to at least get a start, and see if I can continue it later on. For the record, the beginning of this takes place during Season 1, but it won't go through just that season. I hope to have many twists and turns at some points, and be original enough here while keeping faith to the theme of Dark Matter, and not compromise its story._

 _I hope you enjoy the read, and leave reviews, and some ideas. They are all appreciated, and will help improve my writing as I hope to make this work. Until next time._


	2. Lucky Number Seven, Part 1

They all stood around the patient bench in the middle of the room, the seven of them. Six amnesiac humans. One android. The crew of the Raza. And they all surrounded someone that lied on the medical bench, eyes closed. The stowaway they had come across on their ship. Truly, this was an occurrence none of them had expected.

"...Is he going to be okay?" One finally asked, his concern showing in a very obvious manner.

"While his wound has been tended to and closed, he has also lost more blood than what a human being should at this point, which would lead to many symptoms and teeter on the brink of death." The Android stated, turning towards the crew. "It is quite remarkable that he stayed alive this long despite it actually. Especially since all indications point to him having the wound for a certain amount of time."

"Guess he's tougher than he looks..." Six noted.

"I don't understand. How does being 'tough' allow someone to survive blood loss the level which he has endured? The two have no correlation." The Android replied, not understanding what Six said.

"It's a form of expression. Just...surprised someone like him could hold out despite all the blood loss. As you said, it's...remarkable. Some would call it 'tough.'" Two tried to explain.

"Oh. ...Then yes, he is indeed...tough." Android simply replied, hoping to show she got the expression right.

"Okay, are we seriously going to ignore the obvious here?" Three asked incredulously, forcing all eyes on him in confusion. He looked at them all as if they were insane before just holding up his hands. "Fine, since no one will ask it, I will. Why is a KID of all people on our SHIP?"

They all turned their eyes briefly to the person in question on the platform. The culprit in all of this was a young teenager, couldn't be any older than 17 years of age. He was wearing a blue shirt under what appeared to be a worn out, tattered red and black flannel jacket. The shirt itself had a hole in its side, where the wound was, which was now closed. His cut up blue jeans, and worn down black sneakers completed the outfit which was as simple and unremarkable as one could be, but it also showed who he was: just a boy. Just a boy.

"Hell, how did he even get on this ship in the first place? Because last I checked, we didn't become an orphanage overnight, taking in anybody off the streets, regardless of the shit we already go through." Three snarked irritably, before turning his attention to One. "I bet it was you. You and your bleeding heart after all. Would be right up your alley."

"It wasn't me." One denied firmly before turning to Three with a sarcastic smile. "I was just as surprised as anyone on this ship, believe it or not. Though I am happy you know that I actually have a heart, unlike you."

"Oh really, and you expect me to believe that since you want to help just about anyone you can?" Three questioned with a disbelieving look on his face as he took a step towards One.

"I vouch for him." Four spoke up, his cool demeanor always about him as the two turned towards him. "I came across him when this began. He did not have the look of someone who brought this about."

* * *

 _The scene goes to earlier in the day cycle as One was walking through the hallways, yawning to himself as he had just carried himself out of bed, the morning cycle having begun. The crew had gone through a lot, and they all needed rest at this point. However, he himself got up far earlier than he was used to, most likely an after effect of all the anxiety everybody had felt over the past few days, and it definitely showed. One barely had any ability to think at this point with how he tired was still, carrying a tray he had picked up to eventually put food on. He made his way to the mess hall to eventually get himself some food, turning towards the door and pressing a button to slide it open._

 _And the moment he stepped was when he faced with a boy that turned to face him at the same time._

 _A boy around the same age as Five._

 _A boy that was certainly not a member of this ship one bit._

 _They both stood still in their spots, staring at each other with expressions of shock and disbelief. One barely managed to register that he was eating from a big of vatted food that he held in his hand. All that did was add to the absolute astonishment he was experiencing, his brain trying to process the situation in the few seconds that had passed._

 _"Wha-"_

 _He barely got that word out before getting the bag of meat thrown in his face, stunning for a brief second. That second was all that was needed before the adolescent suddenly ran out of the mess hall. One managed to realize what happened before he ran out of the mess hall._

 _"Hey! Wait!"_

 _He called out to the adolescent as he began to chase after him. Not to do anything to him, but to get some answers. He didn't understand, how the hell was there a kid like him on the ship? Where did he come from? Who was he? He needed answers, and he tried to call out to him in order to get them, reaching his hand out to him  
_

 _"I'm not going to hurt you! Slow down, I just want to talk!"_

 _However, his words fell on deaf ears as the adolescent just kept on running despite all of One's pleas, holding onto his side very dearly. He was too scared or too deep into his running to hear him at all._

 _But someone did hear him. As down the hallways, Four was training in his own personal room. He always got up early, his disciplined mind and body practicing at an early hour every day cycle in order to keep himself sharp and focused. He was swinging his blade with focus and precision, practicing the moves over and over until he stopped. For he had One's cries reach past his walls, and they confused him. Why would One be screaming, especially at this hour? That was unnatural, even for him._

 _Deciding to investigate, Four ultimately exited his room and looked around, trying to figure out the source of such actions. And what he saw was someone he did not recognize turning the corner and heading right towards him._

 _Immediately, his mind registered "intruder," and he swung the blade at the first sign of him for the head, wanting to deal with him quickly._

 _However, he did not count on him suddenly stumbling forward, causing the blade to miss just barely and go right over the head. Four watched as the adolescent rolled across the floor, and looked back at him as he got on his knees in shock. Four did not care though, as his mind was ready to deal with this invader and end the threat. And that was pretty much the cue for the boy to go running off once more for dear life, and Four immediately ran right after him, his goal now clear this morning._

 _One was now trailing after Four, recognizing him as he was still chasing the boy as well and exclaimed, "Four?! Where did you come from?!" He then saw the blade that was in his hand. "Hey, what do you have that for?! ...Did you just try to kill him?! You don't need to do that, he's just a kid!"_

 _Four did not reply at all to One at the moment, his mind still focused on chasing down the intruder and making sure he did not cause any harm to the ship. That was what needed for survival because of this unforeseen circumstance._

 _The chase kept going on until the boy passed under an hallway arch, and they were stunned when he suddenly turned around and threw something at the panel in front of the arch. They weren't sure what it was, but it didn't matter as they saw sparks fly, and the doors to the arch suddenly began to close._

 _"No, no, no!" One tried to get past the door in time, but was too late as the doors slid closed, unable to be reopened. "Dammit! That's not good."_

 _"...He is more resourceful than one would think. His survival instincts are sharp." Four admitted._

 _"Come on, we gotta catch him. He's obviously in panic right now, and who knows what he may do when like that. ...And please don't try to kill him right away, come on!" One pleaded as he ran back and tried to go around the door. Four simply gave One a look before following silently after him._

* * *

"...You know, you didn't have to try and decapitate him..." One tried to argue.

"It was spur of the moment, and it was clear there was an intruder on the ship. I simply reacted as I would towards an unwanted intruder, as would any of us." Four reasoned. "Regardless, One is telling the truth. He did not bring the boy on board. I am certain none of us did at this point."

Three looked at Four in annoyed fashion, before he just threw his hands up, as if to give up. "Fine. If that's how it goes. Not like you could do anything about in the first place."

"Oh yeah, like you were so effective in dealing with him yourself." One quipped, looking at Three annoyed.

* * *

 _Three was sleeping soundly, snoring quite a bit to himself in his room as he let the day go by. It was past time to get up, but he was being lazy for this particular day. Not like they had anything on the schedule at the moment, or most of the time, since they were all wanted criminals. But hey, that meant he could do whatever he want. For the most part at least. And he was making sure to treasure that by having the best dreams possible of him being rich and living the life, having Two by his side and One being a "pet" of sorts._

 _Of course, those dreams were interrupted by the sounds of shouting from across the ship._

 _Three just groaned in his sleep, muttering "Shut up, will you? It's way too early..." thinking that would be the end of it. However, it wasn't, because the shouting continued. Along with some crashing and apparently . Three tried to put a pillow over his head to muffle the noise, but the shouting continued, and then there was a large slam of metal._

 _That was the last straw._

 _Three pulled his pillow off his head, a scowl clear on his tired and grumpy face, throwing the blankets off his body and standing out of the bed. He went over to his door, and quickly had it open so he could exit and give whoever was causing the noise a piece of his mind._

 _"_ _Oh come on, I'm trying to get some shut-eye, you people!" Three exclaimed as he went down the hallways, and he turned a corner._ " _I mean, seriously, do you need to shout and cause all that damn noise?! Not all of us are-"_

 _He stopped his sentence midway when he saw the person down the hallway. A boy with brown hair and ruffled clothing was inside the nearby elevator, looking at him in shock and fear as he had his hand pressed on the controls, and the elevator doors began to close in front of him._

 _And he was not a member of this crew._

 _Instinct instantly took over, and he pulled out the gun he always kept on him (better to be safe than sorry), and began firing at the intruder, clearly aiming for the head. The boy dropped down and somehow avoided them in the nick of time as they struck the wall behind him, sparks flying as Three moved forward as he continued to fire, trying to get to the elevator in time._

 _However, he was too late as the doors closed in front of him and ate the bullets he fired for a few more seconds before he reached the elevator and slammed a fist into the doors in frustration. He looked through the window, staring down at the frightened boy as the elevator began to go down with him._

 _"Son of a bitch! Are you kidding me?!" Three slammed his fist into the elevator doors again. "Where the hell did he come from?! Goddammit, like I needed to wake up to this-"_

 _"Hey! Three! What just happened?! Did you just fire your gun?!" That was the voice of One as he and Four had managed to take an alternate route to get there, running down the hallway on the right and meeting up with Three._

 _"What's going on here?! Where did that kid come from?!" Three questioned._

 _"Hey, I asked a question first, and again...what are you doing firing your gun?! Are you trying to kill him?!" One questioned in disbelief._

 _"He showed up out of nowhere, he could be an enemy! And I'm cranky because this woke me up! What was I supposed to do?!" Three retorted angrily._

 _"How about you don't try and kill him since he's just a kid?! Ever think of that?!" One splayed his arms out in exasperation._

 _"The morality of such a decision will have to be debated another time. Because the others are here." Four noted._

 _And sure enough, the other crew members of the Raza, Two, Five, and Six, all made their way down from different reactions, all having heard the gunshots. And it was clear by their disheveled appearances, that they were like One and Three: they were just sleeping, and this situation had woken them all up. And Two was not happy._

 _"What is going on here?! Who fired their weapon in here?!" Two questioned, and her eyes fell on the gun in_

 _"I should have known. If anyone would fire their gun out of nowhere like that, it would be you." Six shook his head._

 _"Hey, I had a damn good reason for it, if you must know." Three defended himself._

 _"And what would that reason be, considering what you just pulled." Two glared._

 _"Would you all please stop fighting?!" Five pleaded. "This isn't getting us anywhere, we have to find out what's go-"_

 _"We have an intruder. A young boy by the looks of it." Four coolly interjected._

 _"...Wait what?" Five looked at Four incredulously._

 _The three newcomers were confused at what Four just said, and it was then that the elevator came back up and the doors opened back up, beckoning them all to come in. One looked at everyone, and just shook his head._

 _"Yeah, let's get in the elevator, we'll explain it in there. It's a bit of a story." One stated._

* * *

"Do you people really have to resort to killing without knowing the whole story here? All the time?" One questioned in frustration.

"Hey, Four did the same thing. I didn't know what he was, and it's not like we have good experiences with other people on our ship. It's just being cautious." Three tried to explain.

"Yeah, I'm sure being 'cautious' is a good excuse for you to pull your named guns out whenever you can." One looked at Three pointedly.

"Hey, can never be too careful, right?" Three smirked.

"Enough. No point in going on about what was done and what wasn't done. It is what it is." Two affirmed, shutting down the words between One and Three.  
"There's much bigger things to focus on with this. Like how he got on the ship."

"I just don't understand." Six shook his head, trying to figure out. "I mean, it's been awhile since we left the last space station. He probably had to have come from there. But how could he have avoided detection for so long, especially with the wound that he had?"

"I believe I can answer that." Android spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "Four noticed a container in the vault area which you all had been as you attempted to negotiate with the boy. It was the only one open, and he had noticed that inner workings were not that of a normal container, so he had me scan the container."

"...And? What'd you find?" One questioned.

"It is a statis pod." The Android informed them.

Brief silence enveloped the entire room, no one daring to say anything in the light of that knowledge.

"...I'm sorry, what? Because I thought I heard you say 'statis pod,' and that had to be my hearing dying for a second, because that just ain't possible." Three remarked in disbelief.

"Apparently, it is possible though. All scans have indicated that the technology of the container has all the makings of a statis pod. There is no doubt in my mind." The Android affirmed.

"...But... But how? I mean...how that can be a statis pod? It just doesn't make sense. I mean, it has to be connected to a power source like the statis pods on this ship, and-" Two tried to explain it away.

"It appears crudely made." The Android interrupted Two's words. "It is not an official statis pod, but rather a statis pod created through other, less streamlined means. It appears it was made with very low-cost materials. That is why its appearance is that of a container on the outside, because of the materials that were used."

"And because it could be used to disguise itself so it could sneak someone on board a ship?" One pieced together off that.

"...Yes." The Android affirmed slowly. "It was running on its power source the entire time the container was on the ship. With him in the pod, it slowed down the bleeding he was going through. Quite remarkable really, for a crude work of a statis pod. It is very likely that he remained in the pod until-"

"Until the power ran out." Four deduced, looking at Android knowingly.

"Yes, not long after my calculations estimate the power source had run out from where it was estimated to have started, the boy encountered you all on this ship." The Android revealed. "And...here we are."

"Do you know who built it though? Or why it was put in here in the first place with the kid?" One asked.

"I am afraid I have no answers to those inquiries. All I know is that statis pod was built with the intent to make it look like a storage container, despite some of the obvious compromises that were made to have it work. And that he had been in there since we left the last space station. That is all that is known." The Android replied.

"Yeah, and it nearly led to a death several times." Six stated strongly. "From what I've been told, the kid was running for his life, all because Three and Four nearly took him out on sight. Can't imagine that being something good to wake up to."

"I repeat that I felt that he was an intruder, and dealt with him as I would any intruder. Besides, he is still alive despite what we tried to do, which is impressive." Four admitted. "His instincts are sharp if nothing else."

"Locking himself up in the vault while he was obviously dealing with a lack of blood were good instincts, huh?" Three retorted. "I mean, seriously, he locked himself in there like that?! He was likely going to die there, especially after...!"

Three didn't finish, stopping just shy because he inadvertently because he clearly remembered what happened the last time someone died in the vault. No one said anything after that to follow it up, knowing exactly what it meant. So eventually, Six pierced through the silence, hoping to get off that subject.

"Well, it's not like you all gave him much choice. He saw us an enemy with how we reacted to him. He only did what he thought would save him. Even if it would of only been a for a few more minutes..." Six pointed out. "To him, all of us were enemies out to kill him. He had no reason to trust any of us."

"...Except for one of us." Two stated.

From there, they all looked at the one person that had yet to speak up this entire time. The one they called Five. The green-haired girl that was right next to his bench-side, looking down at him with a worried look. She hadn't taken his eyes off of him since he had been placed her. And they all knew without her, he probably wouldn't be here.

* * *

 _"Come on, come on...!" One muttered as they awaited the lift to reach down to the lower levels with the rest of the crew, wanting to get to him as soon as possible._

 _Eventually, the doors opened up as the elevator reached the bottom and opened up towards the storage room, and the six quickly exited the elevator. They walked in, and One noticed that the doors to the vault were closing, and he caught a glimpse of the boy in the vault._

 _"There! He's there!" One immediately ran towards the vault to try and catch him._

 _But it was in vain. Because the vault had quickly shut its door way before One could reach them, and he ran right into the door, closing his eyes in frustration as this was the worst possible outcome as he muttered "Dammit!"_

 _"Son of a bitch!" Three cursed as he went up the vault, and banged on the door. "Are you seriously going to hide in there?! You don't deserve to! Come on out, kid!"_

 _"Five, open the vault with the passcode. He can't hide in their forever." Two ordered._

 _"Right." Five replied, unsure but willing as she went to the computer and began to try and enter the passcode._

 _As this happened, Four looked around the area, and then noticed a container with its lid open, and curious, he began to inspect it thoroughly. As he did this, Six decided to try and get some more answers from One._

 _"How did this happen? Where did this kid come from?" Six questioned One as he walked up to him. "Because last I checked, we don't just pull a kid from out of nowhere to hang out with us on our ship, considering what we get involved in."_

 _"I don't know. I just woke up, and tried to get myself some food, and the moment I walk into the mess hall, he's right there in front of me." One tried to explain. "I'm not sure how he showed up, but he was there."_

 _"Yeah, well, maybe he's a spy, sent to eliminate us. There's always that possibility." Three opinionated, glaring at the vault door._

 _"Like a kid is going to be a spy sent to assassinate us, sure." One replied sarcastically. "We don't even know how he even got on the ship in the first place."  
_

 _"I believe this container hold the answers to that question very much." Four spoke up, as he motioned towards the container he was inspecting._

 _Three and Two looked at each other of that before they made their way towards Four and the container, along with Two who wanted to know what he was talking about. And the moment they did, they saw the intricacies inside the container with disbelief. Wires, lights, buttons, and more were littered inside the container as smoke continued to billow out of it, with a coolness to the smoke. They couldn't believe what they were seeing._

 _"What is this..?" One's eyes widened._

 _"...I don't know, but is very much not storage." Two breathed out._

 _"Indeed. This was masked as a container, to blend in with the regular storage. It is very likely he came from in here." Four deduced._

 _Three stared at the container for a few seconds before looking up at the others. "Alright, two things. One: I don't even know how this is possible. And quite frankly, it's probably we don't question how it is. And two...I don't recall ever getting THIS particular storage loaded with the rest of the supplies we got from the last station."_

 _"It's likely that it was placed along with the other containers of supplies we had picked up, and blended in with the other containers to the point where we didn't notice it." Four deduced._

 _"And we assumed it was with the others, and brought it in without checking. And here we are." Two shook her head as she placed her head. "We should have been better than this. Let's contact the Android and get her down here to try and scan this thing. The kid has a lot to answer for when we open that vault."_

 _"About that..." They all turned towards Five, who looked at them from her position with a worried expression. "...I don't know if that's going to happen. The vault's not happening."_

 _"I'm sorry...what?" Two said in disbelief. "What do you mean by that? If you enter the passcode, it should open."  
_

 _"That's the thing, it's not opening! I'm constantly entering it over and over, and it's accepting it. But for some reason, the doors are locked together." Five explained in frustration. "It won't open, no matter what to do. It's as if something is locking them together against its will."_

 _"That doesn't make any sense!" Three proclaimed. "How is that possible?!"_

 _"I don't know, it just is!" Five retorted. "And he's in there, with us unable to do anything. If I'm going to get it open, it's going to take hours to bypass whatever's doing this."_

 _"We won't have that much time." Six proclaimed, as he had been kneeling down on the ground, inspecting something on the floor. He then stood up, and showed what he had dipped his hand in: blood. "...Because from the looks of it, he doesn't have that long."_

 _"Blood? ...He's bleeding." Two concluded, as she looked down at the ground, to see big puddles of blood in a trail. And at the vault, was a puddle of blood that had pooled together. "...And from the looks of it._

 _"Oh man, that's why he was holding his side." One realized. "He was wounded, and all that running... Oh man, he's in real bad shape."_

 _"Yeah, and honestly, with all the blood he seems to have lost...it seems like his time is running short. He's in there, probably bleeding out as we speak." Six deduced, a grim, sad tone to him._

 _"Then we gotta get him out of there fast!" One panicked._

 _"And why the hell should we do that? This kid has caused us nothing but trouble!" Three retorted._

 _"He's scared. Who knows if he knows where he is! Hell, some of us tried to kill him. Can you blame him for doing this?" One replied._

 _"Look, I don't want him dying in there either! That's where..." Three trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence. "The point is, I don't like it...but do you have a good idea to this? Especially since we don't know who this kid is?"_

 _"Three has a point. I want to help him too, One...but it's not like we have any options that can get us there in time. I don't know how we're going to do this. I'm not sure he even wants to listen to us at this point."_

 _One wanted to retort, but frustration took over as he ran a hand through his hair, wondering what to do. But as Two watched this, her gaze turned towards Five, who was slightly panicking as she did not like the whole situation herself. And there, an idea popped into Two's head._

 _"...Why not let Five try to reason with him?" That caught everyone's attention as they all turned towards her._

 _"What? Me?" Five pointed to herself in surprise. "But...why?"_

 _"From what One, Three, and Four have described, he's somewhat around your age. And if nothing else, he's more likely to listen to someone around his age, more likely to trust you. He's not going to listen to us adults...especially after what nearly happened." Two reasoned._

 _"He's not even going to be able to see her, how's he going to tell they're the same age?" Three was skeptical._

 _"He should be able to deduce it from her voice." Four interjected. "Her voice will give away her age immediately, it has not reached true adult levels yet. If we are to go through with trying to save this boy in time,"_

 _"Are you sure I can reason with him? I mean, I don't know if he'll even want to listen and..." Five tried to say, unsure of this._

 _"You can do this, Five. You have a way with words and getting through to people after all. We're not going to let this kid die. Besides the answer...it's not right." Two explained. "You can make him see reason."_

 _"You can do it, Five. Just...be true to yourself. You'll know what to say." One assured her._

 _Five nodded in response, gaining some resolution as she replied with "Right," before she made her way towards the front of the vault. Standing in front of the giant metal doors, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to find the right words to stop. After a few seconds, she began her attempt at reason._

 _"Hello? Are you there?" Five began, hoping to get his attention. "Can you hear me? Please, I need you to answer me!"_

 _There was no reply back, and Three just scoffed, thinking this was never going to work. Five looked back towards the other, and Two motioned for her to go on, telling her she can do it. So she turned back to the vault and she continued._

 _"Um... Look...I don't know what's going on, I really don't. But we know you're hurt! And hurt badly, from the looks of it." Five stated, relaying everything she knew at this point. "And I don't know how you got on here. And from what I've been told, I know you're scared. It must be frightening to go through all this."_

 _Five paused for a second, thinking of what else to say next...but then she realized what he was afraid of. What had him locking himself inside this vault. And she knew exactly what to say from there._

 _"But I promise you, whoever you are. We're not going to hurt you."_

 _With more confidence in herself, she continued onward. "And I bet you're thinking about what some of the others nearly did to you. But you have to understand, you just showed up on our ship out of nowhere. They don't know who you are. You could be an enemy for all they knew."_

 _"Besides...I don't think you're an enemy. Not really."_

 _Three looked at her with a wondering look after that, but One motioned for him to not start. Five did not get a response, but she did not let that deter her. She knew he was listening, that he could hear her...and that he needed help. And she was going to help him no matter what._

 _"I think you're just as confused as the rest of us are, maybe even more so. You didn't try to fight us. Or take over the ship. Or even us kill in our sleep when you had the chance. You just ran...ran as far as you could...because you're scared...aren't you?"_

 _She knew she was right. There was no other reason he would do this. And she knew he needed help. Just like she needed help when she first came out of statis. Everyone did at some point. And she was going to give it her everything, to make him feel like he can trust them. If only for a second._

 _"...I know you are. That's the only reason anyone would run like you did. And that's why I want to help. It doesn't have to be this way. It...it really doesn't. I know you may not trust us, but...I promise you, if you stop whatever's keeping that vault closed, and open it up back up, then nothing's gonna happen to you. We can help you figure out what's going on. And we can find out all the same. It doesn't have to end with you dying. It never did."_

 _Taking one last deep breath, she put all her feelings on the matter in this final plea, hoping he would listen._

 _"I know you want to live. I want you to. I don't want anyone to die here. So please...just open the door. And let us help you. Can you at least do that?"_

 _Silence reigned after that, Five standing before the vault as she waited for an answer. Hoping that he would allow himself to be helped. Seconds passed, and there was no response. No voice, no opening of the doors, no nothing. Five's hope dwindled into dread, and Three just shook his head and was about to walk away from the whole situation._

 _But then the vault doors began to creak, then move._

 _Everyone stilled as they saw this, and slowly but surely, the vault doors slid open to give way to the slight opening that was there before. And from there, a brown haired, disheveled clothed 17 year old boy stumbled out of the vault, leaning against the door, holding his bleeding side as he panted heavily. He was pale at this point, looking terrible and just about ready to collapse._

 _But Five slowly gave a smile towards him, her expression full of relief. He listened. He listened to her, and trusted her. That was all that mattered._

 _"...Thank you. I promise, you're going to be fine. But...just who are you?"_

 _The boy stared at her for a second, and opened her mouth to respond, but then stopped. Five was confused as he had a contemplative expression on his face as if thinking hard on it. Everyone was confused. Why would he have to think on such a simple thing?_

 _But after a few more seconds, he looked up at them and gave a simple reply._

 _"...I don't know who I am."_

 _He then fell down to the floor, collapsing from blood loss as he fell unconscious. Everyone looked at him in shock, the answer almost not registering with them. Did he say what he think they just said? But as they registered, Three ultimately spoke up._

 _And his response summed it up perfectly._

 _"Ah shit."_

* * *

"Thankfully, Five has a way with her words. We didn't need anyone dying unnecessarily, especially because he was just scared and confused." Two stated.

"Well, to be fair, our reputations do give people cause to be scared of us. Just putting that out there." Three made sure to point out.

"It still doesn't answer the question of how he even got on here. Why he is even on here in the first place? Who is this kid?" Six questioned.

"He doesn't know." Five finally spoke up after she had been silent for awhile, catching everyone's attention as she turned to them. "I mean, that's what he told us, right. He doesn't know who he is."

"Oh come on, you're going to believe him?" Three questioned with a disbelieving tone.

"Well, why wouldn't I?" Five replied, a bit incredulous at the thought of it not being true. "Why wouldn't he? I mean, the way he said it-"

"The kid was delirious. I mean, you heard it from the robot, the kid had lost a lot of a blood." Three tried to reason away. "I mean, I'm not into medicine, or any of the inner workings of bodily fluids or all that, but I have enough common sense to know that when you lose a lot of blood, it makes you a bit loopy."

"So you think the kid said that because of the blood loss? That he couldn't figure out who he was?" Six questioned, not sure if he believed that notion.

"It is a possible scenario. Coming out of statis the way he did with the wound he had, along with the eventual blood loss he suffered, may incite certain mental lapses. It is within the realm of possibility that he was unable to recall everything in the situation that he was in for a brief period of time." The Android admitted.

"See? The robot agrees with me." Three smirked smugly.

"Although, it is also quite unlikely that such a situation could cause temporary memory loss as well. It is also possible he is telling the truth." The Android quickly added.

"Okay, you know nothing." Three stated irritably before turning to the others. "Come on, there's no way the kid has no memory. You can't seriously believe him."

"And what if he is telling the truth? What if he has lost his memory?" One replied strongly. "We have to do something to help him!"

"There's no way in hell that's the case! How many times do I have to tell you?!" Three replied.

"Quiet!" Two shut all the talk down, garnering everyone's attention as she glared at them all. "There's no point in arguing over this at this point. It doesn't get us any closer to the truth, and you both know it. We have to find out ourselves the truth about that."

"So...what do you suggest we do then?" Three asked irritably.

"There's only one thing to do." Six piped up, staring at them all. "...We got to wake him up. Get the answers we need."

"Wait, we can't do that!" Five interjected, obviously not liking that idea at all. "He's lost a lot of blood already! He hasn't gotten enough rest after all that happened. Did you see how he was before?"

"I know that, and I don't want to wake him up so soon either. But we need answers about this. He showed up on the Raza out of nowhere. That doesn't just happen." Six explained to Five. "If we don't find out real soon, who knows what might happen? We're not sure how to deal with this. We just need to know what's going on, so we know how to deal with it as soon as possible."

"But-" Five tried to rebuttal.

"Six is right. The longer we wait for answers to this question, the more arguments that will arise over this." Four concurred. "We need to determine if he really has no memory of who he is, so we can decide our next course of action from there."

Five looked on in disbelief, and turned towards the rest of the room, hoping to find some support. However, she got none, even from One, who seemed to be with his fellow crew members on this one. They all wanted answers, even if it meant waking up the boy earlier than what was needed. Five just looked down, her expression one of frustration at this point, but then she got a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, and it belonged to two, who had an expression of comfort towards her.

"We'll make sure he's fine, Five. We're not trying to hurt him, after all. I'm sure of it." Two assured her before turning to the Android. "Will he be alright if we wake him up?"

"He may experience some lingering symptoms from the blood loss he had endured. It is not an easy occurrence to overcome. But overall, he should indeed be fine." The Android confirmed. "His wound has been closed, so as long as nothing is done to re-open, nothing will occur."

"Then wake him up, in that case. It's time we found out what we can from him. For all of us." Two ordered.

"I shall administer the drug to wake him up immediately then." The Android affirmed.

* * *

His eyes slowly opened. They were fluttering, the vision hazy as they tried to readjusting to the land of the awake. He wasn't sure what happened or where he was. It was all so unclear. But he felt as if they know he some things, they were just had to grasp for some reason. Eventually, he slowly sat himself up, feeling a slight pain in his side and his hand immediately covered it, gasping slightly. He looked down at his side, noticing that there was a wound there that had recently been closed. From there, it all slowly came back to him as he remembered what he had been going through.

And the moment he turned his head, he caught sight of six people beside him, their eyes looking at him in concerned fashion. And he certainly recognized them.

Immediately, his eyes widened in fear as he began to almost crawl away from them, but pain shot through his body, closing his eyes as his wound was still reacting to sudden movements like that. Several of them began to close in on him at this reaction, causing the boy to try and move away despite his body's reaction.

"Woah, calm down... Calm down." One tried to convey to him. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Listen to him, we're not your enemies." Two reaffirmed that.

The boy didn't listen as the memories of nearly dying were still fresh in his mind as he continue to push himself back across the bench. That was when he felt himself back up into something, and he looked up to see a person with blonde hair, blue clothing, and an unnaturally even expression.

"I recommend you do not make any more sudden movements." The Android explained calmly and coolly, not noticing his panicked expression. "The wound has yet to fully heal itself, and such movements may reopen it. You need to lie down, and continue to rest for your own sake."

All this did was make him panic even more as he backed away from the Android and up the bench, curling up completely as he was hyperventilating. He was unable to grasp everything, only seeing everyone as possible enemies, and wondered what he did to deserve such a fate...

"Hey!" A familiar voice suddenly tore through the air, and it caught his attention immediately. "Hey, calm down. We're not going to do anything. ...Do you recognize me?"

The boy looked up from his fetal position, to see a face in front of him. A face which was the last thing he saw before he passed out. A face which he had an instantly calming effect on him. It was young, girlish, but full of enthusiasm and worry for him. Before he knew it, he found himself slightly nodding.

"Good. Makes things a bit easier." She smiled, and that just calmed him even more, even though he wasn't sure why. "Look...we're not here to do anything. You were bleeding out, and we brought you here to stop that. You saw it already, didn't you?

He looked down at his side, and saw the closed wound that was still throbbing and aching, but was no longer a major problem. He looked back up to Five, and nodded back at her.

"We wouldn't do that if we didn't want to help. We're not your enemies...and if you just let us, we can make sure you'll be alright. So, please...give us a chance." Five pleaded.

He stared at Five's hopeful face, and he turned away, scratching the back of his head nervously as the look got to him to a degree. He looked down, thinking deeply on her words, before he looked back up to her with a decision made.

"...Okay."

Five's smile widened in a way she couldn't help at that. "Thanks. You won't regret it, I promise."

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like we're going to hurt you or anything. Come on." Three scoffed.

The boy just looked up at Three, and his expression was one thing at that: deadpan at it's finest.

"...You tried to kill me." A blunt statement from him in a very blank tone.

For a moment, Three was actually a bit stunned. He tried to say something in return, but he stopped a few times to think on it. And then, he finally replied.

"...Well, Four tried to as well, so if you want to focus on that...get on him too."

Four just gave a look towards Three at those words, but Two just shook her head before turning towards the boy, garnering his attention.

"Whatever they did before, it doesn't matter now. We're settled now, and we're not going to do anything to each other." Two told him, and he just looked at her for a second, almost curiously at those words. "We're just trying to understand how you're here is all. And...that's why we've woken you up. A bit earlier than what is expected for this."

"We have some questions for you. And since you stowawayed on this ship, and caused plenty of trouble, it is only fair that you answers those questions." Four explained coolly and calculating. "Are you willing to do that for us?"

He stared at them all, as if looking them over and trying to figure out them out. There was a look of distrust and uncertainty. in his eyes still. The memory of what some of them tried to do was fresh in his mind. In light of that, he didn't know what to make of them. But then

"It's okay. We really don't want to ask you anything bad. I...I think I know what you're going to say, because believe me, I have no doubt on what you said earlier. But they aren't sure. So can you answer them, just to help us figure this out?" Five asked carefully. "It would help out everyone. I swear."

He stared at Five for a few seconds, his body relaxing in the midst of her words and she could feel it under the touch of her hand. He then glanced towards the rest of crew, and gave a small, almost unnoticeable nod, indicating he would answer what he could.

"Good. We'll keep it short and simple so we can get what we need." Two proclaimed. "First question: what's the last thing you remember?"

"...Waking up in a box in some storage room." He said, finally breaking his silence.

"Do you know where you are right now?"

"A ship of some sort."

"Do you know what ship this is?"

"No, I don't."

"Do you know why you're here?"

"No, I don't."

"Do you know who we are?"

"No, I don't."

"You know, this is starting to become a pattern..." One pointed out.

Two gave a look towards One before putting her gaze back towards the boy. "Alright, seeing as how this line of questioning is going, I'll go straight to the heart: how'd you end up here? Why were you in that statis pod?"

"...No, I don't. I really, really don't." He tried to convey with pleading eyes. "All I remember is...being in that storage box so suddenly, covered in darkness around me. I...I didn't even realize I was bleeding until I got out of the box. I...I was so confused. I'm still confused. I don't know what's going on! I try so hard to remember, but every time I go past that moment...everything's just a blank..."

"Wait...what do you mean 'blank'?" Six questioned, as the entire crew perked up at the use of that word.

"I mean...it's like I can remember everything up to this point clearly. It all comes to me easily, but whenever I try to go past that, it...just doesn't come up. Like, it...doesn't exist. I know how to do so much more, but...I can't. It just doesn't come up...as if it was never there."

"...No, no, no, no...he can't be saying what I think he's saying... He's obviously bluffing!" Three tried to retort, because the way he described that sounded way too familiar.

"I don't think he is..." One simply stated, looking at the boy in disbelief.

"...What's your name? Do you know who you are?" Two questioned, the phrase coming out low and in trepidation.

The boy looked up at Two's face that was hoping for a concrete answer, and back at Five who simply seemed understanding, and then looked down to the ground. He closed his eyes, his face scrunched up as he thought about this question so hard. But after ten seconds, his face relaxed, and his expression turned into one of surprise, before looking up with clear eyes.

"...No, I don't." He replied earnestly, and they all saw it. The look on his face.

The look of realization.

The same look they all had when they came out of statis.

"...Well, son of a bitch." Three cursed.

* * *

The main meeting room was now occupied by five people. Four male adults, one female. The main voices of the crew of the Raza, and they were all strewn about the room as they tried to deal with the revelation and acceptance of it that washed over them.

"...Kid's actually telling the damn truth. Unbelievable." Three held his head up, cursing everything right now.

"Oh, NOW you believe him?" One questioned Three with a disbelieving look. "What could change your mind on that?"

"It was those eyes of his." Six answered, looking up at them with grim acceptance. "You saw it. We all saw it. And we know that look well. It's the look we've all said we had when we came out of statis. Realizing that we don't know who we are. That we know everything else about how to handle ourselves, how to live...but not one shred about ourselves. You can't fake that look. That much I'm certain of."

"But obviously, he was not afflicted with this the same way we were." Four added, looking at everyone expectantly. "At least in how a virus apparently wiped away all our memories at once for us us. Though it most likely happened while he was in the pod like us, how it came about was an entirely different set of circumstances. The questions are now this: why was his memory wiped? And why was he put on this ship?"

"It doesn't matter." Two stated, standing up from the seat she was in and looking at them all. "I want to know like the rest of you, but I don't think we're going to get the answers to that. He's the only connection to all of that, and he doesn't remember a thing. We're not going to find the answers to that any time soon. So for now, we focus on what needs to be done...and that's figuring out what to do with him."

"Like that really needs to be asked..." Three scoffed, but then looked surprised at the looks he was given. "What? You serious?" He threw his arms up in exasperation. "Come on, this is obvious! We drop the kid off at the nearest space station, let him go on his life, and we continue our ragtag chances of survival."

"What?! No!" One vehemently disagreed. "We are not abandoning him like that, no way. Why would you even think something like that?"

"I said it earlier, we didn't become an orphanage overnight. And I don't plan on us taking every little stowaway that shows up out of the kindness of our bleeding hearts. That's not what we're supposed to do, if we want to live."

"Then what is it we do?! He doesn't have any memory of himself, how is he going to survive out there without anyone to help?!" One tried to reason.

"I concur with Three. He needs to be left off the ship soon." Four stated coolly.

"Four, no, not you too..." One looked at Four in shock, hoping that wasn't what he heard.

"The lives we live are dangerous and fraught with peril. Any second could bring an attack on us from enemies we do not know, or the enemies we have made to this point." Four stated. "We cannot have this boy slowing us down, or put himself in harm's way as a result."

"But Five is with us, and she's doing fine! And you saw how he escaped from us, he's resourceful!" One tried to retort.

"Five has skills that are beneficial to the crew, as well as to her own survival. She helps us as well as stands on her own two feet." Four replied with that same gaze. "This boy, while resourceful as you said, does not exhibit what she can do, nor have a particular skill like the rest of us. As a result, he may end up getting in the way. And for his sake and ours, we cannot allow that to happen."

"Well, I'm not for it one bit." One crossed his arms. "Six is with me on this. Right, Six?" Six didn't reply, only glancing away with a remorseful look, and One couldn't believe it. "No. Not you as well. I mean, of all the people here, I thought you'd at least..."

"One...I'm sorry, but...I'm still worried about Five being with us." Six admitted. "I mean, it's her choice, and she can handle herself. But...we're dangerous people. We get people hurt. And I don't want another child, someone as disoriented and confused as him...to be dragged into this. It's already bad enough that Five was...I'm not going to let him become part of this as well. Not when there's a chance for him to get out."

"So you just want to drop him off on some random space station and leave him there with no one? That what you want?" One questioned angrily.

"...Better than him facing the barrel of a gun and eating some bullets." Six stated grimly.

One stood in the middle of the storm, glancing back between the three that went against him. Three had a smug look, Four was cool and calm as always, and Six was resolute about this. One simply threw his hands up in disbelief, before turning to Two.

"You know we can't do this, Two...we can't just leave him out there." One pleaded.

"...We'll make sure he's well supplied." Two stated after thinking it over. "If too many of us don't think he should be here, we can't just keep him on here because we want to. But we'll make sure he's well off when he does. Hopefully, he can handle himself. We just have too much against us right now...he wouldn't be able to handle it."

One was now defeated as his look turned downcast, running his hand over his face. "...Five's not going to like this. And neither do I."

"I'll talk with Five about that. She may not agree, nor may you...but it's for the best. Hopefully, he doesn't resist too much when it comes to this..." Two admitted.

* * *

The boy sat on the table for the medical room as the Android was conducting a check on his vital signs and overall health. He sat there, still as a statue as he was trying to come to grips with his situation. This was the first time since he woke up that he could fully process and take in everything, and he came to one conclusion: he didn't know what the hell to do now.

"Your vital signs are normal. Nothing abnormal amid your organ activities, nor your biological or nervous systems." The Android listed off before turning to him. "The wound is also healing fully at a proper rate. As long as you do not put strenuous activity on it for a time, it shall no longer be a problem soon. Though it may leave a scar."

"...Thanks. I appreciate it." He managed to get out, swallowing a gulp he held in his throat.

"It is simply my duty to make sure you are fully healed as per the orders of the crew. But I must admit, your ability to survive as you did was astounding." The Android admitted. "You were certainly very...tough...to do so."

He looked up in confusion at her. "...What?" He blurted out at the way she said.

The Android tilted her head. "Was that not the correct figure of speech to use for this situation?"

The boy tried to form words, unable to figure out what she was trying to do...

"Don't mind her." Five said as the door slid open, garnering their attention as she walked in. "She was just trying to compliment you was all, though she could have done it better. But still, I can't disagree with you there."

"Why thank you. I felt it was most appropriate considering what I was told earlier." The Android stated with a little pride in her voice.

"...Right."

Five glanced at the contemplating boy before turning back to The Android. "Is he going to be alright?"

"For the most part, yes. Physically, he suffered no fatal wounds, and will make a full recovery." The Android recited, but then glanced towards him. "Mentally, however... I cannot say for certain. His exit from statis and what followed was...very trying for him."

Five figured that was the case as she turned her attention to the boy, who was still sitting like a statue on the bench. His head was held down as he just stared at the floor, his expression contemplative in many respects. She could see that everything was taking its toll on him, especially with the near death experience, and he wasn't letting it go so easily. She slowly went over to the bench, and sat herself right next to the boy. The boy instantly reacted, squirming to himself at the closeness of her as he pulled at his collar, but Five was calm and cool while the Android continued her work monitoring him.

"So..." Five began, swinging her legs around as she searched the room, trying to find a topic of conversation. Eventually, her eyes landed on something One had found earlier and picked it up the medical tray near them.

"This heat spike...you used this on yourself, didn't you?" She asked.

The boy looked up in surprise at Five, before nodding. "...Yeah. Had to use it to cauterize my wound. Was bleeding pretty bad, had to stop it. Didn't last long though. Had to run for my life."

"Sorry about that. But still, that's pretty impressive." Five admitted.

"...I just knew that I had to close it. I did what anyone would have done, I guess." He shrugged.

"But it was very remarkable. I do not understand why you deny this." The Android injected as she continued to look at his heart rate. "To have the wherewithal to find the medical room amid your daze of confusion, as well as understand that the only way to close the wound is cauterize, and withstand the pain. Your instincts are impressive, I must reiterate."

"Yeah, well...I guess. I just did what I had to do..." He stated hesitatingly.

"Don't sell yourself short. You kept yourself alive when people thought you were an enemy. And they all know what they're doing there." Five explained, before looking at him sympathetically. "So...are you okay? And you know what I mean.

The boy sighed to himself, clasping his hands together as he thinks on what to say. "I just...I just don't know how to feel right now." He admitted. "I mean, I'm on a ship in the middle of space, with six people I don't know a single thing about. A strange Android checking up on me using weird metaphors. I woke up on said ship with a wound that nearly killed me. And on top of that, I don't know who the hell I am, or how I got here. I just... I'm just not sure how to take all this. What I'm supposed to do, or...what to think of myself."

He looked dejected, the entire situation weighing in on him heavily, and Five just stared at him before looking ahead. "...You're not alone in that feeling. I know how you feel. We all do."

"...You do?" He looked up to her in surprise.

"Yeah. See...we're the same as you. We've all our memories. We don't know who we truly are." He was in shock. These people were in the exact same position he was in? "I can remember coming out of statis. Realizing that I didn't know anything about myself. It's so...confusing. You know everything else...except the most important thing: yourself. And it really does get at you. It makes you think, it makes yo wounder. You question who you are."

Five then turned her head towards him with a resolute look. "But it doesn't define you. Strange as it sounds, it doesn't. Because you define who you are. And here I am, with five dangerous people in a dangerous ship with an Android, always on the run as if fighting the entire galaxy. And I wouldn't have it any other way. And I like to think that despite losing my memories...I'm still much the same person I was before all of this. At least, I like to think that. And I have friends, so it's not all bad."

Five pushed herself off the bench onto her feet, and proceeded to take his hand and place the heat spike in his hand. "It can be overcome...and I think it makes us better people. You're going to be fine...and I'm going to make sure to help in any way I can. We all will. And even in spite of that...I think you using this shows you can handle it by yourself if need be. You seem like that type of guy."

Five closed his hand around the heat spike with a smile as he just stared at her in awe, as if taking in the sight of her in and what she said. It lasted a second before she looked up at the Android.

"I think it's time we give him some space. He has a lot to think about, and I know we can trust him."

"As you wish. All readings indicate that his healing process is going smoothly, so any more monitoring would simply be excessive." The Android stated as she walked away from the monitors.

"Good." Five looked back at him with a smile. "I'm gonna talk with the others, see what to do from here. But you're going to be fine, don't worry."

Five turned to leave, but as she did so, the boy suddenly spoke up once more. "Hey...what's your name? You never told me your name."

She blinked twice as she turned around, before a grin made its way on her face. "Well I don't know what I was called before this...but call me Five. It's what I was given when I came out of statis."

"Five..." He muttered, as if tasting the name.

"Yeah, not the most original of names, but it works. And I like it. So...see you in a bit, Seven." Five began to walk towards the door.

"Wait...Seven?" He looked up at her in confusion.

"Yeah, Seven." Five replied as she stopped at the door, turning back to him with that grin. "I mean, we chose these names based on the order of statis we came out of. You're in the same boat as us, so you're Seven. Hope you don't mind the name."

Five then left the room on that note, as the newly christened Seven just stared at the space where she was, processing what just happened and the feelings he was getting from it.

"For the record," Seven snapped out of it and looked up to see the Android looking at him. "I believe it is a very fitting name. Especially since you have no other options for name at this point. Besides, it's a lucky number, isn't it? It suits you."

She then walked out of the room in that same Android like way she had the whole time he had known her, as short as it was. Then, he was left alone and he just shook his head with a slight scoff before turning over the heat spike in his hand as he mulled over his new name.

"Lucky number Seven, huh? Well...it's better than no name, if nothing else." He admitted.

Seven chuckled to himself at the thought as he continued to turn the heat spike in his hand. But as he looked it over more and more, the chuckles slowed down to a stop. And he turned it over more and more in hand until he grasped it with both hands until he stopped, staring at it intentively. After a few second, he then twisted the heat spike to suddenly screw it open in half, showing off the power source within which created the heat needed to create its function, constantly burning and the channeled when necessary into the spike.

He stared at it with an intense expression, and that's when it came. An idea. He wasn't sure where the idea came from, but it did. And it was actually a pretty cool idea. One he felt, for some reason, that he could make reality no problem. He just needed the right materials to make it happen. He looked around the room, and there wasn't much. Just some medical items, and stray pieces of medic technology. But that was all he needed as he began searching across the room hastily, the desire to finish his idea burning as he began applying any form of items and technology he could to the spike.

The ideas kept coming and coming and coming. And they wouldn't stop coming. And he couldn't stop himself. He knew exactly what to do with the idea in his head. And as he worked on the heat spike with other various technology in the room, a brief question popped into his mind amid his tinkering:

Who was he...and how was he able to do this?

* * *

 _A/N: FINALLY finished this chapter. And this came out way longer than I expected. Not sure every chapter will come out this long, but hey, wanted to get to this point. And I hope it came out well. I wanted to capture the crew of the Raza at this point perfectly. I'm willing to accept criticism, so let me know your opinions on this chapter in the reviews. Until next time._


End file.
